You need to talk to members of the LDS church who are not excommunicated or inactive and find out what we truly believe in. You spreading around false doctrine is a sin and you will be judged for that. I am not an active member of the church but I once was. Only because I'm a bit on the selfish side and don't like going to church on Sunday...that is my issue. I served a faithful mission trying to teach people that they could be much happier in this life NOT to recruite. Most of us were out there because we love the gospel plan and want others to be able to follow a good path. We did it for free! For 2 years! That is all! Yes, all of the members and authorities are just trying to get more recruites right.....just to get more money and more recruites. They all do it for free and are giving, generous members who are there to serve whenever others need them! I haven't seen one church do this besides the mormons.
There are thousands who probably read your untrue blog and it is a sin you are spreading such propaganda. Shame on you. You should know that you will be judged by God. Do you have a concience? Just shame on you.
Respose:
Dear Mr. C,
Thank you for writing. I know it must be difficult feeling like the church and beliefs you hold dear are being attacked and when you feel those beliefs are being misrepresented, so I can appreciate and respect your fortitude in writing our ministry. I would like to take the time to respond to your concerns and comments, for you bring up some good points. You said, “You need to talk to members of the LDS church who are not excommunicated or inactive and find out what we truly believe in.” I was a devout Mormon for 26 years, fully active in the Church. I believed it with all my heart and took the gospel (as taught by the LDS Church) very seriously. One reason I had a large family was because I wanted very much to honor heavenly father by being a vessel through which he could send his spirit children to a loving, strong LDS home. I was a Primary teacher for seven years, taught Relief Society for six years, and was Relief Society President my last year in the Church. In addition, I attended Education week every other year, was a local fireside youth speaker, and guest vocalist for several local LDS conferences and events. The summer before leaving the Church, I was filling out paperwork to be a speaker at Education Week, with the endorsement and encouragement of a well-known LDS author/speaker who was a dear friend of mine from Provo High School.
My ministry partner, Chris Hohnbaum, was a member for over 10 years, serving as Sunday School President, Elders Quorum Secretary, Ward Mission Leader, Scout Master, and Gospel Doctrine Teacher. All of our friends were active members of the Church and were almost exclusively the only ones we associated with on an intimate level. We are fully aware of what LDS people believe in from years of personal experience.You explained, “I served a faithful mission trying to teach people that they could be much happier in this life NOT to recruite. Most of us were out there because we love the gospel plan and want others to be able to follow a good path. We did it for free! For 2 years!” Perhaps our misunderstanding is a result of semantics. The word “recruit” as used on our site is meant in terms of the following definition;
A member of a group, organization, or the like; to strengthen or supply with new members; to engage in finding or attracting…new members; to supply with new members (taken from dictionary.com)
I do not doubt in the least that you and other missionaries were/are in the mission field because you love the gospel plan of Mormonism and have a desire to help others achieve happiness in this life and beyond. No one at Equipping Christians Ministries and other ministries like it doubt the sincerity, commitment, and integrity of LDS missionaries. I have a son who served a mission honorably and have a son currently on a two-year mission for the LDS Church. I know my sons have a strong love for the gospel (as taught by the Mormon Church) and that they truly care about people or they would not be out there. I am sorry you got the wrong idea that we believe Mormon missionaries as a whole are mercenaries promoting their own agendas. Nothing could be further from the truth and I truly apologize if what I wrote came across that way to you.
You wrote, “They all do it for free and are giving, generous members who are there to serve whenever others need them! I haven't seen one church do this besides the mormons.” I know there are giving, generous members, because there are many people from the ward who financially supported my one son's mission a few years ago and who are contributing to the son who is currently on his mission. It does not surprise me that you have not seen one church do this besides Mormons. When I was LDS, I, too, was very provincial in my views. I did not look for the good among Christians any harder than Al Gore would look for an iceberg or Rosie O’Donnell would look for a husband! My vision rose and set with the sun of Mormonism and I believed that Mormons had the corner of the market on goodness, kindness, generosity, service, high standards, and truth. I really thought that all the modern inventions from radio, to television, to vaccines, to the space shuttle were invented by Mormons! I wasn’t sure about the internet, as Al Gore seemed to have some claim on that, but everything else of value and worth I was sure came about because Mormonism was on the earth in these “Latter days.”
After I came out of the bubble I had lived in as a Mormon, I was astounded by the selfless acts of service done by millions of Christians from all denominations around the world and the contributions they have made for the benefit of society. Christians give generously of their time and money. Churches across the country are responsible for the establishment of women’s shelters, homeless shelters, adoption agencies, soup kitchens, drug rehabilitation centers, prison ministries, ad infinitum! In the Kansas City area alone, over 6,000 men gathered a few months ago to build pre-fab homes for the poor and needy---without pay! When Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people homeless, there were thousands of Christians who flew in, drove in, and came by busloads to help. I know people from my church that drove to New Orleans on weekends and even took their personal vacation time to minister to the needs of the people in those devastated areas. I don't know many LDS who would give up their family vacation to go help non-members, although there may be a few. These Christians, who came from a variety of denominations, volunteered, freely giving of themselves because of their love for Jesus and love for people.Are you familiar with the Gideon Bible Society?
the Gideon's distribute more that 56 million Bibles and New Testaments every year. This averages out to be one million books every seven days, or 107 per minute. Evangelical churches of many denominations financially support the Gideon's’ work of distributing Bibles, not only to hotels and motels, but also to hospitals and doctors’ offices, jails and prisons, elementary and high schools, colleges and universities, and military bases. When the Bibles are taken or become too worn, the local camp of the Gideons will replace them at no charge (http://ky.essortment.com/gideonbible_rcwz.htm)
Hundreds of thousands of Christians over the last century alone have gone on missions; anywhere from a few days to a few months to a few years, with many committing their whole lives to missionary work! They do not receive pay for this! The teenagers at our church are going to a small Native American Indian community this summer to help the people repair their dilapidated houses, provide meals, and run a Vacation Bible School program for the children so they can learn about Jesus. The cost for the mission trip and the money and supplies for the poor and needy is coming out of the pockets of church members, gladly and cheerfully. These awesome young men and women worked hard all year to raise much of the money by doing community car washes and other fundraisers. There are thousands of Christians of all ages all over the country and tens of thousands all over the world engaged in missionary work and service, bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. They don't just give a brief message and then cut off communication when a person or family doesn't commit to baptism or joining a church! Instead, they love and serve and build lasting relationships with the people they minister to. There are an inexhaustible number of incredible stories of angelic protection, miraculous healings, and amazing conversions experienced and witnessed by Christian missionaries!
When I was LDS it would have made my head spin to realize all that was going on within the Christian community and that the LDS Church was not the alpha and omega. As a Mormon, my limited understanding of Christian churches caused me to be very patronizing. On the rare occasion I heard of some small church doing something wonderful in a community, I would think, “Oh, how precious,” in the same way an adult might observe a small child trying to sweep the kitchen floor with a broom twice his or her size. My attitude was like, “Oh, how sweet; some people not belonging to ‘the true church’ are trying to do something nice for society! Well, bless their little heathen hearts!” How pathetic. Praise God He delivered me from such obnoxious pride!
As I said before, many Christian missionaries spend their whole lives in service to a group of people, whether that group is a remote tribe in a Third World country or the homeless of an inner city in the States. These faithful Christians are not getting paid for their labor. I encourage you to do some investigation and see for yourself all the good that Christians and Christian churches do across the world. Naturally, you will not hear about the selfless service of Christians within the wards and stakes of the LDS Church. You probably won't read about it in the newspapers either, because the various Christian churches don't hire publicists to put their good works on public display. You see, they are not doing these things for recognition or to promote their denominations. They do it for the glory of God, to honor Him and bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
You stated, “You spreading around false doctrine is a sin and you will be judged for that.” May I respectfully ask what false doctrines you think we are spreading and give us official Church references? If we have posted any doctrines that have not been taught at one time or another by LDS leaders, please be so kind as to point them out so we can make corrections. You are absolutely right that spreading false doctrines is sin; this is why we speak out so strongly against many doctrines taught by the LDS Church, because they are unbiblical and lead people into spiritual darkness. The Bible warns against false teachings and those who promote them will be judged. Consequently, it is imperative that people examine all teachings in light of biblical truth, which is supported by an enormous amount of objective evidence.
“There are thousands who probably read your untrue blog and it is a sin you are spreading such propaganda.” There are indeed thousands who come to our website for information. Again, I ask you, what on our website is untrue? Show us; if there is falsehood, please provide credible documentation and we will remove it. The only propaganda concerning Mormonism is what is being put out by the LDS Church’s public relations department, BYU spin doctors, and leaders who are unwilling to tell the truth about the church’s history and doctrines.
You asked if I have a conscience. My conscience is clear and free of guilt, because the Holy Spirit compels me to expose doctrinal error and make known the truth of the glorious and mighty salvation of God in Christ Jesus. Mr. C., our intent at Equipping Christians Ministries is not to “bash Mormons” or spread falsehood. Our purpose is to inform the Christian community and anyone investigating Mormonism, giving them as many of the facts as possible so they can make an intelligent decision on whether to join the LDS Church or not. They are free to become members of whatever religion they choose, but how can they make wise choices when information is being withheld from them?
I am pleading with you to consider that salvation is not dispensed in the name of a church, but is offered in the name of Jesus Christ alone. For a person to be saved he must be stripped of pride and self-righteousness, destitute in spirit, and harboring no illusions of his ability to earn a place in heaven by his own effort. Jesus warned, “Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is te way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). One goes in through the gate alone, on his knees, recognizing the abject horror of his own sin in the presence of a pure and holy God, crying out for the mercy and grace provided through Jesus Christ, the Perfect, blameless sacrifice Who died a substitution death for our sin. All the rituals and good works in the world will not make us spotless and clean. Unless there is brokenness and repentance, there can be no salvation!
I urge you to examine the evidence and seek God of the Bible with all your heart so you will not perish. The question to be asked is this; if Mormonism is not true, would you want to know? The answer to that will determine whether or not the love of truth is in you.
Sincerely,
Tracy TennantCopyright © 2007 Equipping Christians Ministries * All Rights Reserved